Review - Saulo Ribeiro’s Jiu-Jitsu University

I plan on seeing if I can get a copy today at Barnes and Noble. If anyone has already read it, add your opinions here. My friend picked it up already and he really enjoys the format. Read the review, then buy the book.

I ordered it and received it last week, but since Deep Discount either picked a banged up copy to send me or shipping it in a cardboard sleeve with no padding caused it to get banged up, I had to send it back cuz the front cover was all mangled.

I flipped through it before repacking it, and for the most part it seems like an interesting book, alot on escapes, positioning, guard passing, etc. It's different than any of the other Victory Belt books (I have Karo Pariysans, Marcelo Garcias, and both Bravo books). It's organized by belt, and there are fewer pics per move, unlike other VB books that show multiple angles.

But I like it because of the big emphasis on positioning, you don't really see that in most books which just throw together sweeps, positions, subs - most of the time in a haphazard manner.

I still need to have a closer look at it, when my replacement comes in and I'm able to read a bit more I'll repost what I think about it.

Well, I just picked mine up at B&N. It was the last copy there. It was just sitting there, begging to be bought...so I did. Good thing I have a 10% member discount and a 15% coupon because that thing wasn't cheap at all.

I love the book. Most B & N's should have it. I got mine from there 3 weeks ago. It is awesome. I particularly like the parts on surviving and escaping from the bottom, especially his running excapes. The section on guard passing is excellent as well. As the review linked above mentioned, the book excells on showing transitional movesand combining moves. It also shows common mistakes and commonly taught techniques that he advises against. He even shows how the make the "gracie gift" guard pass work without getting triangled. My only gripes are that after reading reviews of Saulo's dvds, I was hoping for something on throws and takedowns. His book is ground only. Also, he doesn't show anything on top position control, ie maintaining positions and transitions. I read from his dvd reviews that he has some unique techniques on maintaining top control so i was hoping he had a few in the book. Still an essential buy IMO. I heard that this may just be the first volume. Hopefully he'll come out with a second.

He was on the Fightworks Podcast after his book came out and he mentioned that he is going to write 2 more books and that he wanted to focus on the core of jiu jitsu before he got to the rest of the game. He hinted at writing about Judo and Ginastica Natural among other things in later books.

He was on the Fightworks Podcast after his book came out and he mentioned that he is going to write 2 more books and that he wanted to focus on the core of jiu jitsu before he got to the rest of the game. He hinted at writing about Judo and Ginastica Natural among other things in later books.

3moose1 is currently banned from DHS. However, as he trains at a Saulo Ribeiro affiliation and has found this book to be quite useful, he wanted to post about it. He sent me the following post in a PM. As promised, here it is:

Originally Posted by 3moose1

Its a great book, and while this may seem bias coming from a Saulo Riberio association member, it does an amazing job, IMO, of breaking down the necessary skills to advance your game.

His chapter on white belt survival really made me feel better as jiu jitsu practitioner. It made me feel like, "Oh, this guy, one of the greatest jits fighters ever, started off exactly where i am" He does an excellent job of explaining the techniques, whilst keeping it simple. His style of jiu jitsu is very...interesting, and well rounded. (Not my opinion, the opinions of people who aren't a white belt :p)

I can honestly verify that the techniques in that book are the ones we are taught. Some things that Saulo has done are unique (at least, unique to me), and seeing that i learn the techniques exactly as they are in the book, it really helped me find a new level of understanding with what i've learned so far. Everyone does stuff differently, so its nice to see a book like this with familiarity.

Well, I must say that the first two chapters were "Ah Ha" moments indeed. The idea of "survive, escape, attack" has been taught in BJJ but never have I seen it approached this way. The idea that position has survival position/posture was intriguing. I liked the concept of being in a bad position and immediately going to a survival position/posture which helps avoid and frustrate the submission attempts being thrown your way and that you should be performing your escapes from these positions. This way, you increase your chances of escape while decreasing your chances of getting caught while escaping (which many of us have probably had happen to us).

I also like how he has sort of a BJJ misconceptions section regarding common moves/positions/tactics that we have all learned. I like how there is a visual representation as to why he feels you shouldn't do certain things. This is one of the key components that are usually missing from many books on the subject and many books/videos/instructionals in general.

A lot of books are great and, in my opinion help add to your game. Some, if you are close, can help take you to that next level. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the material in this book, as well as the approach, WILL take you to that next level. If you are a white, this will take you to blue. If you are a blue, get ready for purple, etc. Mind you, you have to put in the time, but I think once you do, your trip through the ranks may just go a whole lot faster. Mind you, this is based off the first 2 sections (Survival and Escapes). So far, however, I've been nothing but impressed.

One of the reasons I'm enjoying this book so much WAS the emphasis on survival and escapes. One thing I've always told new students coming in is to work hard on defense. My reasoning being that if they get that down, then they won't be afraid to open up their offense. And once they secure in their defense and open-minded about their offense, their Jiu-Jitsu will just blossom. Better then seeing another guy who finally escapes a bad position and recovers guard, only to clamp down on it like a vice grip and won't do anything beyond holding on to it.